A variety of chairs have been known and used that feature the capability either to rock, swivel, recline, lift, or perform some combination of these activities. In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,039,818 (Frank); 3,138,402 (Heyl, Jr., et al.); 3,479,086 (Sheridan); 3,640,566 (Hodge); 4,007,960 (Gaffney); 4,083,599 (Gaffney); 4,226,468 (Johnson); 4,850,645 (Crockett); and 4,852,939 (Krauska) all disclose chairs that feature one or more of these capabilities. None of these patents, however, disclose a power operated chair that is capable of performing the combined functions of rocking and swiveling as well as reclining and lifting.
In addition to the inability to perform all of the features of the chair disclosed in the present invention, each of the devices in the above listed patents has other disadvantages. For example, Frank discloses a chair with lift capabilities only that simply relies on springs for the lift operation; the present invention, on the other hand, uses a power activated mechanism to accomplish all of the chair's operations. Heyl provides for a motor operated lift mechanism for a chair, but does not provide for a motor operated recline mechanism or the rock and swivel feature of the present invention. Further, the present invention for ease of operation lifts only the seat, rather than the seat and back as in Heyl. Likewise, Sheridan provides only for a mechanism that can lift the seat. Hodge provides for a lift and recline mechanism, but, unlike the present invention, this mechanism is only spring assisted and not power operated. Both Gaffney patents disclose chairs capable of lift and recline operations, but they cannot rock and swivel as can the present invention. Johnson discloses a chair that is capable of moving away from the wall as it reclines, but it does not disclose any of the lift or rock and swivel features of the present invention. Crockett discloses a lifting device for the entire chair, rather than the present invention which provides for an integrated chair that lifts the seat as well as reclines, rocks, and swivels. Similarly, Krauska discloses a device to take an existing reclining chair and turn it into a powered lift and reclining chair, but does not incorporate these features into a chair that also rocks and swivels and lifts only the seat rather than the entire chair.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide for a power operated chair that could not only recline and lift the occupant of the chair, but also rock and swivel.